Sunday, December 19, 2010

(This is a prayer narrating the story of Rama in very simple words. Yet another similar prayer ending with Ramanarayana has been translated by me earlier(www.celextel.org/stotras/vishnu/ramanarayanasthuthi.html ) )

Oh Rama, Oh Vishnu,Along with Sita who is Lakshmi,And Lakshmana as well as monkeysAnd along with king of asuras, you traveled,In the pretty Pushpaka Vimana,With flower of Pushpaka trees being showered by the devas,You Reached the blessed city of Ayodhya ,And as per the desire of his devotees,You underwent the coronation ceremony,And lived as personification of the joy of the world,Oh Ramachandra who is lord of all the worlds.

I salute the feet of the God who clears obstacles,Who rides on a mouse , who keeps a modhaka* in his hand,Who has fan like ears , who wears a thread as belt,And who has a dwarf form , who is the son of Lord Shiva. * A round lemon-sized sweet made of rice, coconut, sugar, etc

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who holds the conch called Saranga , who has eyes like lotus flower,Who has a lotus like mouth , who takes care of the handicapped,Who is dear to Lord Shiva and grants auspicious things.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who rides on a bird , who is the soul of three lettered “om”,Who holds a stick to drive cattle, who was the charioteer of Arjuna,Who destroys his enemies and is Lord Vishnu in sathva form.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who resembles the sea , who has lotus like eyes,Who is brother of Balarama , Who is greatest among the strong,Who is a mischievous destroyer and one who removes ills of Kali age.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who shines like the Sun , Who is the place of stay of Lakshmi,Who is worshipped by sages, who is the Lord of cows,Who has the form of a man and an enemy of asuras.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who is as pretty as love God who has pretty eyes,Who takes care of the earth, who thins down the earth,Who is brother of Balarama and who is black in colour.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who is the Lord of the earth, who is son of Devaki,Who weakened Greek people , Who removes fear of birth and death,Who is worshipped by all, who has faces in all directions.

I sing about Madhava , who is the a great member of Yadhu clan,Who makes the calves tired by making them play, who looks after the calves,Who is the enemy of Kamsa, who has the form of a swan,Who gave salvation to Bheeshma , who removes all drawbacks.

(This great Prayer is written by a Holy sage of Karnatka called Sridhara Swami (http://spiritual-note.blogspot.com/2007/03/sant-shreedhar-swami-maharaj.html). This stotra in sanskrit script with meaning is available in http://ioustotra.blogspot.com/2010/10/shri-sharda-stotram.html )

Victory and victory daily to Sharada, the mother of Vedas,Victory and victory to the goddess who grants wisdom and salvation,Victory and victory to all those devotees of the Goddess,Victory and victory to the Goddess with perennial divine form.

(From time immemorial cows were considered as God by all Hindus. It is believed that all Gods reside in a cow. This great Prayer has been written by a Holy sage of Karnatka called Sridhara Swami (http://spiritual-note.blogspot.com/2007/03/sant-shreedhar-swami-maharaj.html). This stotra in sanskrit script with meaning is available in

http://ioustotra.blogspot.com/2010/11/dhenu-stotram.html

. I have referred to this translation while making my own translation.)

Oh Cow , all the Gods and goddesses live inside you,And they get pleased completely by worship to you,While your milk is our energy, your ghee is our life,And mother you have been praised in various ways by Vedas.

Power , stability , good brain to acquire knowledge,Peace and devotion are daily got from you without fail,Oh mother by the devas out of the Khir* made with your ghee and milkAnd so these blessings can also be received by us ordinary people. *A sweet dish made using milk

Similar to Fire burning all wood, all sins are burnt.By the Pancha Gavya* , which is described as piousAnd oh mother , it is drunk by Brahmins well versed in Vedas,For attaining absolute purity due to your blessing. *Mixture of milk, curd , ghee, cow’s urine and cow’s dung

He who serves you with a sense of devotion,And chants this prayer addressed to the cow without mistakes,Would attain wealth , devotion and get all types of blessings,And also health of the body definitely.

(I got this great prayer from the web site www.karthikraman.dyndns.org/stotrasamhita/Venkatesha_Ashtakam.This also has been given in the web site www.prapathi.com as Venkatesa sthothram from Brahmanda Purana.)

He is one who punishes bad people , one with a lotus on his belly, One who lives in the Venkata mountain, He is the creator , Lord of the universe, Lord of knowledge and one who is dear to his devotees.

He is the chief of cows, Lord of cows, the black one , One who gives lustrous body, One with Garuda in his flag,He is Varaha the boar, Vamana the dwarf , And one in whom all souls reside and one who is forever victorious.

He lives in all beings . lives on a mountain , Lives with Lakshmi He is the consort of LakshmiHe is one cannot be destroyed, He is one who does not have limits , who is Vishnu and the Lord of Venkata hills

Thus ends the prayer addressed to Lord Venkatesa, which occurs in the chapter4 on “ Greatness of tha Venkata mountain”, which occurs in the midst of the discussion between Lord Brahma and sage Narada which occurs in Brahmanda Purana.

Let good things happenOh God who is pretty,Let good things happenOh God who does not have beginning,Let good things happenOh God who is full of divinity,Oh Lord who is full of all that is good,Oh God whose form is full of good

Let good things happenOh God Who never gets doubts,Let good things happenOh God who is without anything,Let good things happenOh God who is Shiva of universe,Let good things happenOh Lord Shiva, my salutations.

(This great prayer is addressed to Lord Narasimha, who chose to sit in a yogic pose in the Thiruvelukkai Azhagiya singar temple, which is in the southern bank of the Veghavathi river , by Srimad Vedantha Desika, decidedly the greatest Sanskrit poet among the Vaishnavites of Tamil Nadu. I have consulted the great commentaries to this prayer available in

He who appoints the Maruths and other devas from his own place,Who has complete control over his senses, Who is sitting in the paryanka bandha pose teaches real understanding of oneself,Who seems to teach the real yoga to those who worship him,And who fulfills the wishes of all the world as the lion of Kamashikha.

With his open nails he tore open the chest of Hiranya Kasipu,And the blood flowed non stop like a river, which made his nails,Which were similar to thunder bolt red,And I worship the Man lion form of Kamashika,Whose hands compete with each other to protect his devotees.,And declare war on those who try to harm them.

With fearsome thick mane , loud reverberating attractive laughter,With brows showing immense anger but with his lotus eye,Full of dripping mercy, towards the child of that asura,He appeared like an imposter lion with the true form of a mother.

“If you protect , where is the need for another protector,If you do not protect, which other protector is capable of protecting,”With this firm resolve I surrender to you,Oh Lord Narasimha , who is in the banks of river Vegavathi.

If a good one prays with this prayer of eight stanzas,Composed by Venkatesa on him who is worshipped by Indra ,Then the Man lion Vishnu who stands according to his will ,Would kill the sins which stand like a fierce and fast elephant.

Salutations and salutations to queen Thulsi,Salutations and salutations to chief queen of Vishnu,Money can only buy Thulasi ,And Shaligram became the chief queen,But not being soft like a bunch of leaves,It hurt the lotus like feet of Vishnu.

(Radha is the close friend of Lord Krishna in Brindavan. She is also considered as an incarnation. Devotees approaching Lord Krishna with prem Bhav (feeling of love) pray them together. This is taken fromhttp://indif.com/nri/Aarti/radhakrishnaarti.asp )

Because she roams and rolls, victory to Radha,Dressed in yellow silk , Krishna steals the mind of sages, Victory to him,With two of them loving each other they make the atmosphere bright,Salutations to Radha Krishna,

This is the prayer to the mother cow,This is the prayer to the stag like cow of the world,Giver of wealth , work and good acts,Giver of stable and pure method of salvation,Giver of luck to devas and men,Worshipful darling of the child of Nanda, She who takes care of the entire world,Mother who gives sweet nectar like , rice of curd

She who cures diseases and sorrow,She who is the strong boat helping to cross the sea of misery,She who helps us with long life , strength and health,She who destroys sorrow , helplessness and poverty,She makes us pretty happy and prosperous,She who is the giver of pure wisdom and intelligence.

(This is the aarthi is sung extolling Lord Hanuman consecrated at Mehandhipur, Rajasthan. In this temple he is called Balaji. People believe he can drive away all evil spirits and cure diseases. The aarthi in hindi script is available in www.indofil.com )

Victory to Hanuman who takes good care of the wishes of saints,Oh Lord be pleased to hear our entreaties,Do not be late in knowing the problems of your devotees,And for us miserable souls give great pleasure

Victory to Hanuman who is the ocean of great strength,Who is the God , the assemblage of abilities and a wise one,Please remove my enemies when I Chant “Om Hanu, Hanu, Hanu”,With a great mace which is like Vajrayudha..

You are the exterminator of even the horrible looking Kala with a black face,You always help Lord Rama and look after him with love,Please beat and kill Devils, ghosts ,evil spirits that wander at night , fire and black Vetala ,

Please kill them all in the name of Rama ,And show the world the greatness and respect of that name,Once you were shown the path of truth by Lord Hari,You became his messenger and started killing his enemies.

Get Up and start your work Oh Rama, Help me to help others in my mind,Oh Lord who travels by jumping “Om Cham, cham, cham”Oh Hanuman “Om Hanu, hanu,, Hanu”Oh God monkey who is not constant “Om Han han han”Please help me to cross “Om San san”

Make way to this Bhajaranga arrow ,And then Hanuman would save our souls,Before the one who chants this Bhajaranga arrow,All the devils and ghosts would tremble,After chanting always light the incense,So that there would not be any trouble always.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Trilokya Mohana Nrusimha Kavacham(The armour of the man lion which attracts the three worlds)

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

(Unlike many other Kavacham(armour) this one is mostly based on thanthra and prays different aspects of Lord Narasimha along with Bheejaksharas to protect different parts of the body. It is believed that mis pronunciation of these would lead to bad effects. So I request those who want to chant this powerful prayer to learn it from a teacher and then start chanting it. I have taken this from a Malayalam book on Kavachams published by Vidhyarambham publishers, Aleppy. This Kavacha along with translation is available also in http://www.stephen-knapp.com/prayers_to_lord_narasimhadeva.htm.But the text of that presentation considerably differs from what is given in the Malayalam source,)

In the house where is performed Lakshmi and Saraswathi would live,The lucky man who would offer flowers one hundred and eight times ,And would read the complete text once., would get the same effect,As one has offered worship to the God for one thousand years,And if one gets the kavacham written , put it in a golden locket and wear it,Either on the neck or n the left arm , Narasmiha would be with him personally,.This should be worn in the left hand by girl and right hand by a woman,And this auspicious armour would certainly bring good to the wearer.The lady who does not have sons or a lady who bears only dead sons,Or The lady who is totally barren or the lady whose children are dead,Would bear many sons and he would become a liberated soul.

Even if all the three worlds are in war with them, they would win over them,And devils , ghosts , dead souls , Rakshasas and other bad beings,As soon as they see them they would certainly run away from that place.In the house or the village if this armour is installed,Such beings would leave away that place and run away to far off places.

Let my hands be protected by the protector of devas,Let me be protected from all sides by Lord Narasimha,Let my heart be protected by him who can be approached by great sages,And let my house be protected by Lord Hari.

Let my thighs be protected by one who happens in the mind,Let my knees be protected by him who has a human form,Let my calves be protected by him who lightens my load ,And appears in the form of a combination of man and lion.

Let the ferocious one protect me from the east,Let the very valorous one protect from south east,Let the great Vishnu protect me from the south,And let God who blazes like a flame protect from south west.

He roars and makes us roar ,He with his many arms tears and throws them out,He searches and troubles the sons of Dhithi in this and other worlds,Throws them and scatters them and when angry he kills them from all directions,And when he sees them he tears them apart with his hundreds of divine hands,And I salute him who has manifested himself as a divine lion.

(Sidhi means power but in this context means occult power. Sidhi also means completion. This great stotra addressed To goddess Lakshmi is expected to give you the power to get occult powers. I have taken the text of this stotra from www.stutimandal.com My gratefulness to that great web site. This stotra is different from Sidha Lakshmi stotra , which is also available in my web site.)

Let That Goddess Lakshmi , who resides in the forest of lotus flowers,In the tip of Kadamba plants , in the palaces , on the elephants,In white colour , in those owning horses, in bulls, in the yagas,In conch , in the clan of devas , in the houses of kings , in the bank of Ganges,In the Gokula , always stay in my house without moving from there.

That divine Lakshmi sitting on a lotus pose with broad thigh and hips,With eyes similar to the lotus leaf , who is serious, whose navel is deep,Who is bent due to the size of her breasts, who wears clean cloths and upper cloths,Who is being bathed by the gem studded divine elephants using a golden pot,And who has lotus hands , may always live in my house with all auspiciousness.

( Shaktheyas believe that that there was a primeval power which is pervading in all earth. They believe that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva got their power of creation, upkeep and destruction from this power. She has a famous temple dedicated to her in Dakshinewar, West Bengal. She is the Vaishanvite Goddess of Thanthric practices. Here is a prayer addressed to that primeval power in Sanskrit. This prayer is very popular in Bengal and so most of the write up of the stotra in Devanagari script reads more like Bengali . So I have taken the sanskrit version given in www.sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/AdyA.pdf for my translation. An english translation is already available in http://www.adyapeath.org/AdyaComb.pdf A story of the origin of her worship is given inhttp://www.om-guru.com/html/saints/annada.html)

In a boat over water or in difficulties or in war ,If this is read one would make victory as his own,If this is written and placed in one’s home,Then that house will not have fear of thief or fire at any time.

In the south east she is Mahananda, the great daughter,In the north west she is the one who rides on a deer,In the south west she is the one whose teeth are drenched in blood,And in north east she is the one holding a trident.

She is a Durga who creates devotion to Lord Vishnu,And she is the one who gives pleasure as well as salvation,If a man always reads this blessed prayer to Aadhyaa,He would get rid of all his diseases including fevers,And without any doubt man will get,The effect of bathing in billions of sacred waters.

She who sent Shiva as emissary , The very ferocious killer of Chanda,She who is consort of Parameshwara all over, She who has broad eyes,She who is great enchantress, she who is a lass , She who is a partner , and consort of Shiva.

She who is the power of Indra, She who gives victory,She who is mother of war , She who likes war,She who helps us to cross difficulties, She who is victorious,She who is black , She who as Kali ensures safety and is the one with a big belly.

(Kala Samhara Murthi (also known as Amrutha Gateswarar) is the God presiding over thirukadayur a temple town near Kumbakonam of Tamil Nadu. It is believed that when sage Markandeya was nearing his death and was being chased by the God of death, he rushed in to the sanctum sanctorum of this temple and embraced the Shiva Lingam. The God of death swung his Pasa(rope) on Markandeya. When the rope started pulling the lingam, God Shiva broke the lingam, came out and killed Kala, the God of death. Abhirama Bhattar a great savant and a poet wrote this great prayer. His major work is Abhirami anthadhi. Readers who want to know more about him are requested to read my introduction to the translation of Abhirami Anthadhi. I have taken this great prayer from a book called Abhirami Bhattarain Pathigangal , where the tamil meaning of these prayers are given by Abhiramadasan Meenakshi Sundaram Mohan, published by the author .I owe my deep gratitude to this great translation which helped me understand the meaning of all the difficult words in this great prayer.)

Those who see the form of Lord with shining gem studded ear globes,With hands holding a deer, with garland of thumbai* flowers frequented by bees,With long hair with pleasant aroma , with the crescent , with sacred thread ,With lotus feet in dancing pose , with shining armlets ,With the prettiness of the lady occupying half his body and with three eyes,Will they ever be able to see the God of death ?Oh pretty Lord who killed the God of death and presides over the great Thirukadayur With gem studded homes similar to golden spires touching the sky with lot of flags,With the bright moon touching the wandering rich black clouds With ponds full of flowers , with Vedas being chanted day and night ,And with big buildings in which lot of maids live and with all things in plenty . *Leucas aspera2,Thandamum , kayirum, solamum pugaintha thazhal umizh kangalum valaintha,Thanthamum , sivantha kunjiyum , kariya sayilame anaya meniyumai,Andina samanai kandu ullam mayangi arivu azhindu iru vizhigalum panju,Adainthu vay pularnthu mey maranthidum podhu , ambikai thannudan varuvay,Vandugal murandru mugai murukku udainthu , Madhu mazhai pozhindhu , thathu alainthu,Madal virithu alanthu pon niram pothintha manral am kondrai var chadaiyay,Kandavar ulamum kannume kavarum gana dhana vanithayar nerungum,Kana valam chirantha kadavai ampathiyay , Kalanai kayntha tharparane.

When the lord of death with Dandayudha in his hand along with a rope and trident,With eyes spitting fire and with body similar to a big black mountain,Comes towards me , my mind will get frozen , my intelligence would be destroyed,My eyes become not able to see as if it is covered by a piece of cotton,My mouth would become dry and when my soul is about to leave the body,Please come to me along with the Goddess and shower your grace.Oh pretty Lord who killed the God of death , who wears over his long hair , The golden coloured konrai* flowers ,which due to the dash of bees While it was opening are coated with honey and pollen grains, andOh God who presides over the great Thirukadayur , which is full of ladies with heavy breasts,Attracting the mind and eyes of those who see them and which has plenty of all wealth. *cassia fistula 3.Dhanapathi nigaray chelvame perineum , sathamakan bhogame perineum ,Dharani chumakkum chedane nigaray thakkathor arivu yellam perineum,Ananganai nigaray azhagu thaan perineum , arumarai kizhavan ner urinum ,Iyya , nin kadaikkan arul thavariya per amkai odu yenthi nindru uzhalwar,Pana kanganathai , alapparum gunathai , Parvathi vama bagathai,Paval nal nirainthay , thavala thoolithathay, pari puram alambu por padathay,Kanagamum thugirum tharalavum vayira kalangalum nilam thorum midaintha,Kana valam chirantha kadavai ampathiyay , Kalanai kayntha tharparane.

Even if one has wealth as much as Lord of wealth, Even if one were to enjoy the pleasures like Indra with one hundred eyes,Even if one has wisdom of Adhisesha who supports the earth,Even if one has the prettiness of Adonis, Even if one has all rights like a Veda chanting Brahmin,Oh Lord if one does not get the grace of your side long glance , He would keep on wandering , begging with a alms bowl in hand.Oh Lord with snake bangles , Oh Lord with immeasurable good qualities,Oh Lord who keeps Parvathi in the left , Oh Lord with the colour of the coral,Oh Lord coated with white sacred ash and who wears anklets on his golden feet,Oh Lord who presides over Thirukadayur full of gold , corals , pearls,And diamond ornaments and which is blessed with al sorts of wealth,Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

Being a well of deceit , being a sea of sorrow , being the residence of poverty,Being the sea of untruth in the body full of sins , being a field of unconsciousness due to sin,Being a form of the accumulated sins, Being devoid of happiness, mercy and help to others,Being a store house of all diseases that trouble, my head is not stable and I wander without any aim and when will I get your cooling assistance ? I do not know.Oh Lord with shining red hair , in which snake with poisonous fangs and sharp teeth ,Which keeps the shining garnet with it and also the cooling crescent of moon reside ,Who resides in the prosperous Thirukadayur , where the lotus in the ponds ,Always close themselves thinking that the face of damsels of the town is a full moon,Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

Brahma has got bored, mothers have got tired, women are afraid of child birth,Diseases have become enemy , old age is troubling, desires follow you and drag,The god of death is hating his job, The hell is also hating itself,The world after carrying all the people up to this time is in pain and has become thin,And am I the only target for carrying the corpse of the chariot of time which rotates?In the lakes of Thirukadavur, where the flowers open like gems and shine with great luster,The young and fat Buffallos swim in the water and eat the honey drenching lotus flowers,And this appears like the big black rich clouds entering the sea and making them in to vapour.Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

I called people, whose mind is tumultuous with anger , people with bad character,People whose mind is full of evil tricks and the fools who are not fit to move with good people,As Dharmaputhra for patience , Adisesha for good character . Agasthya for poetic skills,And Indra who enjoys life and wasted all my time., Alas.Oh Lord of Kadayur which is like the wish giving tree among the five great trees which touch the sky, Where the horses of the sun are nothing but the bees of Thirukadayur growing immensely,Reaching there and tearing the clouds as a group , having attained that growth,Due to drinking the constant shower of honey by the various flowers,Of the prosperous Thirukadayur , Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

Please bless me so that I become one in the company of your great devotees,Who with a melted heart, agree for serving you , put on the sacred ash on them,And wear the chain of Rudraksha , perambulate your golden temple ,Pick flowers suitable for your worship , win over the enemy of five sensory organs,Which make one loose his senses to the illusory pleasures of life,, Control all worries and then worship by reciting the great three lettered Mrutyunjaya chant ,Of “Om, Jum Sa” , and permit the base man like me to worship you.Oh God of the town of prosperous Kadayur where the swans sit happily on the lotus flowers ,And the peacocks on seeing the rich clouds open their feathers and dance Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

If this sinner who sank in the sea of sorrow daily by the pretty lady,Attracting by her eyes with collyrium , melting the mind,Shining with her face where turmeric has been applied,Wearing jeweled ornaments , creating passion , tying her breasts tightly,Sitting very near me talking sweet nothings , stealing my heart,Falling on me as if she has lost their senses, telling lies,And with her only aim as attracting others,Does service to your pure lotus like feet , would there be problems?Oh God from the town of prosperous Kadayur full of bees,Which have drunk honey from the lotus flowers and rotate like,The coins rotating in the hands of women playing the game,Oh Lord who killed the God of death.

Consider my actions as service to you , Consider my words as Panchakshara ,Consider my wanderings as perambulations round you, my thought process as meditation,Consider the food that I eat as the sacred offerings to you and consider my sleep as a salute to you,And receive them with joy in your holy heart and shower your grace on me along with mother,In the presence of all devotees of this world and devas of heaven.Oh God from the prosperous town of Kadayur where the blue lotus flowers,.Always stand straight thinking the face of the women laborers in the field,As the Sun due to the brilliance of their faces and which is full of,Ponds which are full of fishes, areca nut trees and Sugarcane as tall as those trees,Oh Lord who killed the God of death.